Gautam Gambhir pressured to remove Rohit Sharma as Test opener for success in BGT 2024-25

Former Pakistan spinner Danish Kaneria has put the spotlight on India's top order after they were handed a 0-3 whitewash by New Zealand at home. Danish Kaneria stressed that Team India’s fate in the upcoming much-awaited Test series in Australia will depend on how effectively the batters perform.

Kaneria believes that if Team India’s top batter falters, the team’s hopes to record a hat-trick of Test series wins on Australian soil could be jeopardized, as the top order collapse will put immense pressure on the middle and lower order to recover the innings down under.

Danish Kaneria advises major shake-up to Gautam Gambhir ahead of Australia tour

In a surprising suggestion to Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir, Danish Kaneria advised dramatic changes in the team’s formidable lineup. Kaneria shockingly wants Rohit Sharma demoted, as he rates Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill as the ideal openers, with the struggling Indian captain and Virat Kohli following in the crucial one-down and two-down positions, respectively.

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Danish Kaneria was quoted as saying by Times of India: “The Indian top order should be Jaiswal and Shubman as openers, Rohit coming one-down, and Virat two-down. They have to manage that. Gambhir needs to manage the long Indian batting line-up, as Ashwin and Jadeja are there, so they have a deep batting line-up.”

The former Pakistan skipper believes that it is very crucial for Team India to create a solid foundation and relieve the mounting pressure on the rest of the lineup, particularly on key players like Rishabh Pant, if they want to retain the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25.

Danish Kaneria warns India's top order must deliver in Australia to avoid collapse

According to Danish Kaneria, a powerful start would allow India to capitalize on their deep batting resources, which include the likes of the spin all-rounders Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.

Furthermore, he highlighted the dangerous cycle that could emerge if the top order fails to perform in Australia. A collapse at the top will put a lot of pressure on the players like Pant, who often ends up shouldering the responsibility in high-stakes moments.

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Danish Kaneria made it clear that without a stable start, the Indian cricket team will be immense under pressure, as the lower order is left scrambling to rescue the innings rather than build on a solid base in the upcoming Australia series.

Kaneria further explained, “Indian batters need to click; that's the only concern. If the bowlers take wickets, then the batters need to click. They have to click and take responsibility because it goes down to the wire for Pant to take responsibility. Sarfaraz is doing well, but the pressure from the top order not clicking puts pressure down the line.”

Indian bowlers need batters' help to win Test matches: Danish Kaneria

Stressing the key role of the bowlers, the former Pakistan spinner has insisted that India's bowlers need considerable support from the batting unit to win the Test matches.

He admitted that bowlers can make decisive breakthroughs and win Test matches, but a lackluster batting performance leaves them with too much ground to cover, and if that happens down under, it would be disastrous for India.

Danish Kaneria signed off by saying, “A Test is won by bowlers, so Indian batting needs to click as their top order, where Rohit and Kohli are struggling with runs. If you don't click, then you have to survive and get runs, which is very difficult. Indian bowlers need support from Indian batters as they should put more runs on the board.”